How the Amtrak tragedy unraveled on social media

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PHILADELPHIA (PIX11) -- “I’m on [the] Amtrak train that just crashed.

"I’m ok. Helping others. Pray for those injured,” tweeted Patrick J. Murphy just minutes after the Amtrak train he was traveling on from Washington, D.C. to New York City derailed Tuesday night.

It was the first message that surfaced on social media from the crash site.

Murphy, an attorney was one of the many who walked away from the deadly crash.

That tweet was sent out at 9:27 PM EST -- just 6 minutes after the train derailed at what the NTSB estimate was about 9:21 PM EST.

Grainy surveillance video of the crash was obtained by CNN early Wednesday that shows the train speeding by and then a blast that happens out of the frame seconds later. One of the first videos that provided a glimpse inside the devastated train surfaced on Instagram.

Another survivor was an NBC News producer Janelle Richards who tweeted rescue efforts including a video of passengers trying to escape.

Richards, one of many who documented the trauma on the ground, was criticized for taking to social media in wake of the tragedy.
She later defended her self via a tweet saying “Yes I did call 911 first and foremost.”

However it was Washington National Opera violinist Jennifer Kim who drew the most attention on social media.

A passenger on the train, Kim tweeted “@amtrak thanks a lot for derailing my train. Can i please get my violin back from the 2nd car of train?”

The tweet that many deemed insensitive considering the casualties, was met with so much backlash, Kim deleted her twitter account early Wednesday.